With the recent passing of Valentino and Valentine's Day around the corner, we were left thinking about Valentino's true love (besides gorgeous clothes and Giancarlo Giammetti, of course), pugs!
Beloved by Valentino all his life, he was rarely seen without one, or five, of his fuzzy wrinkly companions. Oliver, the patriarch of the Valentino Pug empire, even served as the muse for a diffusion label, Oliver by Valentino.
Please enjoy the scroll through the life and love affair between Valentino and his pugs.
Valentino cuddling his pug tin a still from the documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor - 2008
One of Valentino's pugs trying on jewels in a still from the documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor - 2008
Valentino photographed by Jean Paul Goude for Harper's Bazaar - 2007
Valentino often flew on his private jet with his pugs in tow.
Enjoying more of a the luxurious life, Valentino and his pup lounge on a yacht.
Valentino and his pup muse, Oliver in the 1990s.
Valentino and his pup muse, Oliver in the 1980s.
Valentino in his Parisian garden - 2018
Valentino and his pugs at home - 1992
Valentino and his pug - 1996
Valentino on the grounds of his Italian Villa - 1978
Vava (as Gwyneth Paltrow called him) with an armful of pups.
After Oliver, Valentino's brood included Milton, Monty, Maude, Margot, Maggie, and Molly.
Valentino and his pug at home in Rome - 2000.
Valentino surrounded by models in Valentino red and his pugs. Photographed by Jean Paul Goude for Harper's Bazaar
Valentino at a chalet in St. Moritz, photographed by Slim Aarons - 1984
One of Valentino's pugs at his funeral service - 2026
